


Ellys' First Marriage Proposal

by soul_struck



Category: D&D - Fandom
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24263755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_struck/pseuds/soul_struck
Summary: Ellys Swiftlock is currently in a campaign to save the world. But back home, her parents tried to force her into marrying a fellow noble, which sparked her lust for travel.
Relationships: n/a





	Ellys' First Marriage Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fanfiction about my D&D gnome character. I might make more, I don't know.

Ellys inserted the lockpicking instrument into the lock, her gnome ears listening carefully at the tumblers quietly clicked. When she first began learning the art of thieving, she had idly picked locks, flirting with the mechanisms, learning every millimeter of the locks before finally solving the puzzle in one decisive flick of her wrist. Each final click was music to her ears, greater than any music a bard could play, sweeter than anything a composer could create.

Tomil was behind her, keeping lookout while she did her work. The male gnome’s reddish hair looked muddy in the moonlight, his eyes that nearly perfectly matched his hair darting to and fro, keenly looking out for anyone that might be watching. There was rarely a shadow that escaped Tomil’s eyes, at least, that’s what Ellys liked to think as she knelt in front of this very rich and very angry widower’s door, as she planned on robbing him. She had several plans in place in case this went sideways, and number three was always run like fuck.

The symphony of clicks reached a crescendo as the tumbler gave way to Ellys’ prodding, and the door unlocked. A satisfied, but quiet, noise escaped through Ellys’ nose. She went inside, Tomil right behind her. The interior of the house was modestly fancy; Expensive items were on display, such as rare elven vases and magical items that were obviously meant for larger humanoids, such as breastplates that shimmered with magical energy, and swords larger than Ellys and Tomil stacked on each others’ heads.

A low growl was briefly heard before a large dog, the back reaching just below Ellys’ head, padded towards the two. Ellys already had a piece of jerky in her hands, holding it out for the large dog.

“Here you go, Persimmon,” she said softly as the large black dog ate the food from her hands, tail wagging. “You know I wouldn’t forget about you, sweetie.” The dog looked at her with one blue eye and one brown eye, then continued eating the jerky happily.

“What are we getting?” Tomil whispered, glancing around nervously. The widower, whom they were robbing, was not home at that time, but might be home unexpectedly.

“Well, the bet was for me to steal some ring, but now I’m thinking of something better,” she mused, still whispering, idly petting the dog. “I’ll still steal the ring, but…” she looked around, taking her hand off the dog. The dog groaned and nosed her arm, and she resumed petting her, chuckling.

“I think we should do something to his clothes. Or maybe something to his son’s shit.”

“He has a son?” Tomil sounded surprised. He followed Ellys as she began walking up the stairs, the dog padding behind them, tongue lolling.

“Yeah, I’ve only ever seen him like once, in passing. My parents tried having him for dinner with his father, but I kind of suspected they were trying to set us up, and I stayed with you.”

“That was why you stayed at my house for a week?” Tomil’s disappointment was evident to anyone except Ellys, who was peeking into doors.

“Yeah. Aha!” She swung the door open, revealing the inside of a sparsely decorated room. She immediately began looking through drawers, opening them quickly and feeling around for any false bottoms, opening every box she could find. The dog sat next to her, seemingly interested in what she was doing, resting her head on Ellys’ shoulder. Tomil peeked out the window to keep an eye on the front of the house.

After a moment, she found what she was looking for, a delicate silver ring with several fire opal gemstones woven into the metal. She stuck it into her pocket.

“I don’t get how this guy can have this expensive-ass ring hidden away, but these drawers look like they cost two copper. I’m pretty sure…” she reached over and moved one, the wood creaking. “Yep, it’s falling apart. What a cheap asshole,” she said. “I wonder if his son is the same way, keeping all his money hidden like some kind of miser.”

Tomil let the curtain go, looking back at Ellys. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird that you hate the rich so much? Your family owns the city.”

“Yeah, and I make sure to give my money away. There’s no reason to have one family have all the fucking money. There’s people sleeping on the streets, Tomil. My mother won’t let me let people sleep in our house, so why not take shit by force?”

The dog padded behind them as she began searching for another room, settling on what she believed to be the son’s room. He was around her age, supposedly, though she hadn’t gotten a good look at him before. She remembered he was handsome(maybe? She could have been recalling someone else) in a pretty boy kind of way, which she would loathe to admit she preferred.

The son’s room was a little more decorated, with various paintings of dryads and satyrs cavorting, some sketches that were obviously done by him, clothes on the ground, and a made bed with dark red sheets and black pillows. Persimmon hopped onto the bed, and Ellys gasped, shooting the dog a sly look.

“Are you even allowed on the bed?” she asked the dog, reaching over and petting her. The dog merely licked her lips and laid her head down, watching the two move about the room. They didn’t touch anything, at least not at first. Tomil peered through the curtains again, while Ellys walked around, checking the room out. She admired the drawings, fingertips lightly grazing across the page laying atop the desk next to the bed. She pursed her lips together, violet eyes scanning the desk for a specific item. Once she found it, she picked it up and began her work. The only thing that alerted Tomil that Ellys was doing anything was the scratching of the pencil across the page.

“What are you doing?” He asked, turning towards her, hand still pulling the curtain back slightly. She giggled.

“Just subtly...adding bulges to all of his pictures.” She began shading in the bulge of the tiefling in armor the son had been working on. She then began adding bulges to everyone, no matter the gender or races, and got a few pages in before Tomil snapped his fingers.

“He’s coming home. We need to go.”

“Right, yeah,” she put everything back as well as she could and snuck down the stairs with him, Persimmon trotting behind them.

The night was much cooler than when they had begun, and Ellys escorted Tomil back to his house, taking side streets, avoiding the guards who were enforcing the curfew. There had been a lull in murders, and most people assumed it was from the curfew. On her way back, she had time to think about some things, such as when she was going to go back and finish shading in those bulges. She could go back without Tomil...he didn’t need to be with her for that. She did have to deliver the ring the next evening, she could finish after she was finished doing that…

She easily went through the house undetected, undressing and slipping between the sheets in her bed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, finding herself waking up the very next moment, morning having come already. She didn’t feel quite rested, but she got up anyways, knowing her parents expected to see her at the table for breakfast. She dressed in simple soft, green pants and a black top, not bothering getting fully dressed. It wasn’t until she reached the bottom of the stairs did she realize exactly how late she had slept.

Her father, fully dressed for the day, stood at the door with the widower and his son. He was, indeed, as pretty as she had remembered, with jet black hair and one brown eye and one blue eye, pouty lips, and a charming smile on his face. Her father turned her way, his brows raised.

“Ellys, darling, there you are. It’s nearly noon. Why aren’t you dressed?”

“Sorry, I guess I overslept.” She took the final step off the stairs, eyeing the two new men carefully. “What are they doing here?”

“Sir Lanlin here was bringing his son, uh…” Her father paused briefly, before the son spoke up.

“Achlan,” he said smoothly.

“Bless you,” Ellys responded, causing the son to look at her, snorting. Her father continued, ignoring her.

“We’ve been talking about merging our two businesses, and his son wanted to be present for the talks.”

“Great,” she said, walking past them. “Have fun. Do business things.”

“Wait, Ellys, hold on,” her father pulled her aside.

“Could you keep Achlan busy for about an hour? His father has mentioned he’s not very business-savvy, and-”

Ellys groaned. “Dad, I want to eat. I’m starving. I need coffee, and you know I don’t like rich guys.”

“Hey, I am a rich guy, okay?” he said, using a warning tone. Ellys knew it was playful, so she rolled her eyes, looking past her father at Achlan, who was waiting patiently next to his own father. She looked back at her father.

“Fine, but make it thirty minutes, or I’ll make him cry.”

“Forty-five minutes, and I don’t tell your mother you were out late last night.”

She narrowed her eyes at her father. “Deal.” They shook on it, and Ellys looked over at Achlan.

“Come here.”

He looked surprised. “Me?”

“Yes, you, come here!” She motioned him towards the kitchen, and he gave his father a look before following her. Their kitchen was bright, large windows near the table with curtains thrown open wide to let the sunlight stream in. The floor was white and scrubbed clean by her mother. According to her father, they used to have servants before they got married. One of the stipulations of her marrying him was him dismissing all the servants. Apparently she didn’t think they needed them.

Ellys grabbed some bread and jam and fruit and cheese and began assembling herself a breakfast. Achlan leaned on the counter as she did so, clearing his throat.

“So-”

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Ellys said. “If this is some weird way for our parents to make us like each other so they can marry us off, it won’t work.” She looked up at him. He was actually tall for a gnome, nearing four and a half feet, which was dwarvish height. Ellys had noticed that his father was the same way, though a few inches shorter than him. Ellys was on the smaller side for a gnome, though she would never actually admit that to anyone. Still, the height difference didn’t intimidate her.

“So, letting you know now.”

Achlan looked genuinely surprised for a few seconds before clearing his throat. “Miss Ellys, is it that obvious?” he blinked, his odd-colored eyes studying her face. “I apologize about this, If I were to approach you to wed my way, it would be under much better circumstances. You would be...wearing a bra.”

She snorted, giggling a bit. “You’d be waiting a long time, then.”

“Ha…” he chuckled with a little uncertainty. “Well, in any case, it couldn’t hurt to get to know each other? That way, we could at least tell our parents truthfully if we enjoy each others’ company or not.”

She chewed on her lower lip a moment, thinking as she spread the jam. “I suppose.” Her parents had never done this sort of thing before, at least, not to Ellys’ knowledge. She did have a tendency to sneak out at night, in the afternoons, in the evenings, mornings...if she was ever home at all, it was a miracle. For some strange reason, her parents never tried to keep her in the house against her will, and for that, Ellys was grateful.

She began making coffee, and looked to Achlan. “Would you like some?”

“Oh, certainly,” he said. She made enough for two, the kettle heating up after a bit. She leaned against the counter, eating her bread and jam. She studied Achlan with her violet eyes, and he studied her with his blue and brown eyes.

“So, what do you want to know?” She asked him. Even though it was about noon, it was too early for her to deal with something like this. But she loved her parents, and wanted to at least try, for them.

“I suppose, what hobbies do you have? I know-” he stopped himself, then coughed. She raised a brow.

“What do you know?”

“Nothing.”

“No, tell me.”

“Nothing!”

She reached over and pinched his arm. “Tell me!”

“Ow! What on earth? I’ve heard you like to steal!” He rubbed the spot where she pinched, looking surprised. Ellys shrugged.

“They’re right. Is that a problem?” She raised a brow, obviously challenging him. He let out a “hmmph” noise and straightened his shirt.

“Obviously, that behaviour would have to stop once we got married-”

“Nope,” Ellys said.

“-and you’d have to get a more suitable hobby-”

“Nope,” she said again, then took a bite of her food.

“-which of course, you’d have to stop doing once we had children-”

Quicker than he could react, Ellys lobbed a knee at his groin, hard enough to knock his breath out of him. He doubled over, wheezing as she wiped jam off the corner of her mouth and turned back to her sandwich. His knees wobbled, and he sunk to the ground as she ate her sandwich, uncaring on the outside, but seething with rage on the inside.

The coffee was done by the time he was able to get up, and Ellys calmly poured them both a cup. He stood there, winded, as she turned her head, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Cream? Sugar?” she asked.

“Uh,” he looked confused. “Both?”

“Mhmm.” she put in cream and sugar and stirred it, then blew on it briefly before throwing it on his chest. He screamed in pain, yanking on his shirt as she walked out of the kitchen. Her father burst out of the study door as she exited, followed by Achlan’s father.

“What in the hell is-” her father began, but Achlan ran out with a soaking wet first, red splotches creeping up his neck. Ellys’ father sighed, looking at Ellys as she headed up the stairs.

“Lanlin, I think we’ll have to postpone business discussions,” he looked apologetic at the older man.

“No need,” Lanlin said. “Whatever business we had, it doesn’t matter. Come, Achlan.”

Ellys looked down from the top of the stairs, flipping Achlan off as he looked up at her. She closed the door behind her in her room, furiously looking through her clothes. There was a knock on her door as she began dressing.

“No!” she snapped, pulling her pants off. The door opened, and her father sighed as she searched for a clean pair of pants.

“Ellys-”

“No! How could you do this to me, dad? Marriage? You know how I feel about that!”

“And you know how your mother and I feel! Someone needs to take over the family business, and it’s easier for people to accept a married woman. It shows dependability. A willingness to commit to something.”

“No, it shows that you’re willing to commit to one single thing forever, whether it works or not. Also, him? Achlan? I’m pretty sure he waxes his eyebrows, dad.”

“Ellys, come on!” her dad said, exasperated. “If your mother finds out-”

“She’ll what? She’s not on your side, no matter how much you think she is.” She finally found a pair of pants that were relatively clean, and slid them on. She began her search for a bra. “There’s a reason she taught me shit, dad. Because she’s not into this whole thing.”

Her father looked like he was going to say something, but decided against it, throwing his hands up and turning to the door as Ellys took off her shirt.

“Just don’t be late tonight, okay?”

“Fine, fine,” she said, pulling her bra and a shirt on. He closed the door behind him, and she grabbed the ring from her pants that she had worn the night before and stuffed it into her pocket. She grabbed her jacket with her tools in it and ran a brush through her hair before climbing out the window, the front door completely unlocked and unimpeded.

~~~~~~~

Ellys roamed the streets, careful to stick to the main roads until she got closer to her destination. The side streets were littered with unsavory types, both gnomish and other, some she recognized out of personal familiarity, some from the wanted posters around the city. They weren’t her concern, though, so she passed them by. She arrived at a dirty shop, the only light streaming through the dirty windows. She approached the counter, which had a healthy coating of grime on it, and placed her elbows on it. The gnome behind the counter, peeking through dirty glasses covered in fingerprints, squinted at her.

“What do you want?” he asked, his voice raspy, and Ellys imagined dust billowing out of his lungs, filthy as the rest of the shop.

“I snatched a breadcrumb from a pigeon,” Ellys said casually. “The raven wanted a taste.”

“Ah. All pigeon pluckers get their tweezers in the back.”

“I’ll be sure to take a look,” Ellys said.

“Careful,” the old man said. “The raven’s beak is sharp.”

“So’s my dagger,” Ellys said, dropping out of Thieves Cant. When she stepped into the back room, she looked around briefly before spotting the only clean thing in the store. A knob on the wall, dust kept away from being pulled so often. She pulled it, and a passage opened along the wall, turning and opening just enough for her to slip inside. Once she was in, the wall closed.

The staircase was stone, made of the same stuff as the walls. Ellys ran her hand along the wall, feeling its smoothness as she found herself in complete darkness. Luckily, she had the ability to see in the dark, but not too well. Enough to not fall on her ass, at least. When she got to the base of the stairs, she opened the wooden door into the secret gambling den. Unlike the upstairs, the den was mostly clean, with barely anyone in it. In the corner, lounging on a couch with two raven-haired gnomes, likely twins or siblings, was the man Ellys was looking for. She approached him, nodding.

“Got it,” she said simply, reaching into her pocket.

“Hang on, hang on, why don’t you join me for a drink,” he said, motioning to the barmaid. Ellys shook her head.

“I can’t, I have some other business to attend to. Maybe some other time.”

Before he could protest, Ellys turned and hurried back up the stairs. She sighed in relief when the sun hit her face, taking in a lungful of air and expelling it slowly. She kept a brisk pace as she left via alleyway, heading back towards her house, taking the long way. She was nearly home, when she spotted two familiar figures on the opposite path. As far as she could tell, Lanlin and Achlan hadn’t noticed her. They were speaking to each other, leaning in close. She sank back behind a house and climbed over a fence, hopping into a yard. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a shriek.

“Ellys Swiftlock!” An old gnome woman scolded. “Back again to steal from me?” She reached for a broom.

“No! Mrs. Adelaide, shut up!”

“Don’t you tell me to shut up!” Adelaide grabbed the broom. Ellys let out a squeak and ran as the old woman, strangely quick, chased her to the fence. Ellys swiftly hopped over, swinging her body over like a gymnast.

“I’m telling your father you tried to steal from me!” Adelaide screeched from the other side of the fence. She whacked the fence with the broom, causing Ellys to jump. Luckily, no one was in this yard, so she climbed over the fence and headed to the front of the house. Achlan and his father were gone.

“Goddamnit,” she swore. She headed to her house, pulling leaves from the bushes out of her hair. She swung the door open and closed it behind her, careful not to slam it. She headed up to her room, yawning. She was starving, and cranky. She hadn’t had any coffee that morning, and now needed a bath. She figured she could head to the private bath house in the neighborhood and get some coffee there, then grab lunch.

First, a nap.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Ellys returned to Achlan’s house that night, this time without Tomil. All of the lights were off, and she had seen the two of them leave the house separately. Picking the lock again was simple, as she had already done it once. Ellys slipped inside, noting the dog wasn’t around this time. Must be locked in a room or something.

She headed upstairs, the luxurious carpet muffling her already silent steps.She made a beeline for Achlan’s room, quietly opening the door, peeking around for Persimmon. There was no sign of the dog, but Ellys wasn’t concerned about him. She headed to the desk and immediately got to work, adding bulges to everything, everyone, even inanimate objects. The process ate up any focus she had, and it wasn’t until She heard the doorknob turning that she realized someone was coming.She dove under the bed, stilling her breathing as Achlan breezed through the door, none the wiser. He shut the door, immediately heading to his bed. His shoes thudded in front of Ellys’ face, and she could hear him flopping backwards. It was silent for a few moments, then Achlan got back up and headed to his desk, where Ellys did peek out to watch. He flipped a page, then another, then another, and made a furious noise.

“Fucking bitch!” he yelled. Ellys covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, but it was too late. Achlan whirled around, looking for the sound.

“Come out,” he demanded. Ellys didn’t move. Achlan stormed around the room, flinging open the closet door, the wardrobe, until he leaned down and saw Ellys under the bed. He gave her a smirk she didn’t quite like, and wagged a finger at her.

“I think you should come out, dear.”

Ellys felt her insides tremble, and her lip curled in disgust. Dear. She hated pet names, and she hated it when men called her by them. Dear, darling, sweetie, honey, and the ever popular, Baby. She wanted to stab him. She wanted to throw him out of his own window. But, she was in his room, messing with his things. And she didn’t want to show weakness. The rich ones liked lording what they knew over you.

She slid out from under the bed, pushing her hair from her eyes. “Well, you caught me. See ya.” She saluted him and tried to exit, but his arm shot out and stopped her. Her eyes flashed in anger, his grip burning her skin.

“Let. Go.” The words were spoken though gritted teeth. He simply smiled at her, showing her his gleaming white teeth.

“Why would I do that? You’ve been caught. You’re on my property, under my bed. I bet if you turned your pockets out, I’d find some of my father’s jewels in them.”

“I didn’t steal anything,” She answered, a bit defensively. “Look.” She pulled everything out of her pockets, even the hidden ones inside her jacket. She truthfully had nothing in them. He narrowed his eyes, then smirked again. Ellys didn’t like the feeling she got. He tapped his chin, looking at her with a predatory look.

“I wonder,” he said. “You could have put them in your shirt. Or in your underwear.”

“I didn’t,” she said, worry growing in her chest. She started to feel a sense of panic as he stepped closer. 

“I don’t believe you. Take off your clothes, or I’m calling the guards.”

She hated him. She hated the look he was giving her, smug and like she was to be devoured. He relished the position she was in, the one where he had all the power. Ellys’ eyes began welling up with tears, but instead of them spilling, the sensation filled her with anger. No one but me makes me cry!

The anger she felt built inside of her, and she lunged forward to push him out of the way, but what came out instead was an explosive force that not only knocked him backwards, but flung his bed against the wall, scattered the papers on the desk everywhere, and shattered the windows. The noise the erupted from her being was deafening, but when it cleared, she felt a sharpness in her senses instead of a dull ache that she would have expected. 

Achlan was inside the wall. Literally. There was an Achlan-shaped hole with his body slumped over, half in one room, half in the next. Ellys looked at her hands in disbelief. Where the fuck did that come from?!

She knew she only had seconds to react, so she made her way over to him, and pulled him up by the front of his shirt. He was dazed, understandably, and his gaze was unfocused when he looked at her. She gave him an expressionless look as she pulled his face towards hers.

“You don’t ever touch me again. Do you understand?” She shook him a bit, and his eyes began focusing on her. “You think I’m trouble? That was just a taste of what I can do. You better be out of this city in three days, or I’m coming for you. And I’ll kill you, and tell everyone what I know.” She let go of him, and he fell backwards, out of the hole.

It wasn’t until after she exited the house that she realized she’d blown away her thieves tools. She cursed, then used the back yards to navigate to her house, as everyone nearby was coming outside to see what the noise was. When she got inside, her mother was rushing to the door. She looked startled, nearly running into Ellys.

“Love? What’s wrong?”

The tears that threatened to spill in Achlan’s room came flooding out, and Ellys buried her face in her mother’s shoulder. Her mother hugged her, a confused look on her face, but stroked her daughter’s hair.

“Shh, it’s alright, love. It’s alright, I’m here.”

Ellys never told anyone what happened, and she felt she didn’t need to, since Achlan was gone two days later. His father claimed he went on an international tour of the continents to “gain artistic inspiration.”

Ellys knew better.


End file.
